Contact clip



Feb. 28, 1956 G. P. GERBRACHT CONTACT CLIP Filed Oct. 3, 1952 FIQZ FIG.1

INVENTOR.

United States PatentO CONTACT CLIP George Paul Gerbracht, Erie, Pa., assignor to Erie Resistor Corporation, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 3, 1952, Serial No. 312,900

3 Claims. (Cl. 339-258 In electronic circuits and circuit components, impedance elements such as resistors and condensers have been made with terminal surfaces for making electrical contact. This invention is a contact clip for frictionally gripping and making electrical contact to such terminalsurf'aces.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a partially completed circuit component showing circuit impedance elements inserted in clips; Fig. 2 is a view of an impedance element; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the clips; Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the clip and the rivet connection of the clip to the base; Fig. 5 is an end view of the clip; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the clip is formed with the position of the bending or forming lines indicated by dotted lines.

In Fig. l of the drawing there is shown part of an electronic circuit element which comprises a base 1 of insulating material having fixed to one or both faces thereof metallic conductors 2 and eyelets 3. The eyelets may be soldered to the leads of electronic circuit elements such as tubes. The conductors 2 make the necessary circuit interconnections. Contact clips 4 can be attached to the base by rivets 5 extending through the eyelets. The contact clips are useful in making connections to the electrical impedance elements, such as resistors and condensers, which may for example comprise elongated cylindrical pin like bodies 6 having sprayed metallic terminal surfaces 7 and 8 at opposite ends. If the impedance element is a resistor the body 6 will be made of resistance material. If the impedance element is a condenser, the body 6 Will be made of dielectric material, for example, in the form of a hollow tube with the inner and outer electrode coatings respectively connected to one and the other of the terminal surfaces 7 and 3. In this type of electronic circuit element, it is necessary that the clips 4 make firm electrical contact with the terminal surfaces 7 and 8, and it is also necessary that the clips be firmly and non-rockably supported on the base 1 because it is frequently necessary to arrange the circuit impedance elements very close together, and sidewise rocking movement might result in short circuiting. These advantages are obtained by the contact clip illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 3-6, inclusive.

Each of the clips has a base member 9, which lies flat on the insulating base 1 and is intended to be rigidly fixed thereto by a fastener such as a rivet extending through a hole 10. At one end of the base member is an upstanding end wall 11 at each side of which there are wings 12 bent back toward the base and inwardly over the edges thereof so that the ends 13 of the wings are spaced apart a distance somewhat less than the width of the base member 1. The spacing between the ends 13 of the wings 12 is also slightly less than the diameter of the terminal surfaces 7 or 8, which are to be gripped by the wings. As either of the terminal surfaces 7 or '8 is pressed downward between the wings 13, the wings are slightly spread and a point contact is obtained between the outer cylindrical surface of the terminal surfaces 7 or 8 and the inner surfaces of the ends 13 of the wings. This concenwith the disclosure of the completed clip.

2,736,876 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 trates the contact pressure at a point and obtains the best possible contact from the light metal from which the contact clips are made. The contact pressure is also increased by the fact that the wings 12 are relatively short and the leverage tending to spread the wings is correspondingly small, so that the wings are relatively stiff even though made of very light gauge metal.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the terminal surface-s between the wings 12, the end wall 11 is bent outwardly at 14 and the tips of the wings 12 are bent outwardly at 15, so as to provide a beveled entrance or mouth facing in the direction of the upright wall 11 which guides the terminal surfaces into place between the wings.

If applicants clip were designed as the conventional fuse clip, the terminal would be inserted between the wings 12 by movement "toward the wall 11. This would require the forming of the ends 13 of the wings so as to provide an entrance guiding the terminal surfaces into place. This is dilferent from applicants clip where the inserting movement is along the wall 11 rather than toward the wall 11.

The contact clips are used in pairs with the base members 9 extending toward each other and with the end walls 11 and the wings 12 likewise extending toward each'other so that when the impedance element is placed between the contact clips as shown on a small scale in Fig. l the impedance element is not only gripped with good electrical contact between the ends 13 of the wings 12, but endwise movement of the impedance element is blocked by the end walls 11. The contact clip structure is such that it can be easily made in a simple multi-stage press performing the bending and forming operations. This is difierent from the conventional fuse clip structure, which requires a special press.

The blank from which the contact clips are formed is shown in Fig. 6, the parts of the clip being indicated by the reference numerals previously identified in connection In Fig. 6 the dotted lines are the lines along which the metal is bent to form the completed clip. The end wall 11 is formed by bending along line 16 and the bevel 14 at the upper end of the end wall is formed by bending along line 17. The wings 12 are formed by bending along lines 18 and the bevels 15 are formed by bending along line 19.

In top plan view, the clip appears to be channel-shaped and the terminal to be gripped by the clip is inserted through the open upper end of the channel and moved downward or lengthwise of the channel into contact making position.

What I claim as new is:

1. A contact clip assembly for elements in the form of a body having terminals 'at each end, comprising a support, a pair of spaced metal contact clips on the support, each having a base attached to the support, an upright wall integral with the base and transverse to the support, and spaced Wings integral with the sides of the upright wall and converging toward each other and terminating in ends spaced apart in a distance less than the width between the sides of the upright wall, the wings on one of the clips extending toward the wings on the other of the clips, and the edges of the wings remote from the support being formed to provide entrances facing in the direction of the upright walls through which the terminals at each end of the body may be inserted by movement along the upsupport, and laterally spaced wings integral with the sides of the upright wall and extending transversely from the upright wall and converging toward each other and terminating in ends spaced apart a distance less than the width *between the sides of the upright wall, the wings on one of the clips extending toward the wings on the other of the clips, and the edges of the wings remote from the support being formed to provide entrances facing in the direction of the upright walls through which the terminals at each end of the body may be inserted by movement along the upright walls, said wings being spreadable by the terminals and the upright walls blocking endwise movement of the terminals.

3. A contact clip assembly for elements in the form of a body having terminals at each end, comprising a support, a pair of channel shaped metal contact clips mounted on the "support and arranged in opposed relation with the channels extending transverse to the support and the side flanges on one of the channels extending from the base of the channel toward the side flanges on the other of the channels and the side flanges of each channel converging toward each other and terminating in edges spaced apart a distance less than the width of the base of the channel, and the ends of the channels remote from the support being open and the side flanges at said one end being formed to provide entrances so the terminals on the body can be inserted between the side flanges of the clips by movement in a direction along the length of the channels through said open ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,934,805 Kuhlman et a1 Nov. 14, 1933 2,088,322 Henning July 27, 1937 2,109,770 Franklin Mar. 1, 1938 2,157,188 Robinson May 9, 1939 2,229,989 Roby Jan. 28, 1941 2,289,358 Hanny July 14, 1942 2,308,596 Drury Jan. 19, 1943 

